The Cuban National Zoo experienced a double joy on March 12: four baby tigers were born for the first time in more than 20 years in this park.
And among them is a little white female, who was named Yanek.
The felines have only recently been out on the patio to enjoy a small swimming pool out of sight of the public.
The zoo is still closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We are very happy that a white tiger was born in Cuba," said Angel Cordero, manager of this zoo where the animals live in semi-freedom.
“This is the first time this has happened.
"
A double joy for the employees of the #Cuba National Zoo: the birth of four baby tigers for the first time in more than 20 years, and among them, the surprise and unprecedented presence of a white tiger, a female named Yanek https: //t.co/ByUs6RT2W4 #AFP pic.twitter.com/TKae12rYyF
- Katell Abiven (@tellka) June 9, 2021
"We want them to be as natural as possible"
“The other joy we have in the park is that it has been over 20 years since we had a tiger breeding in our country,” added the official.
The fruit of an exchange with a zoo in Guatemala, the two Bengal tigers, Fiona and Garfield, are now the parents of three females, Yanek, Melissa and Gaby, named after the children of the employees, and a male called Miguel.
"The four are aggressive" to imitate their mother, says Angel Cordero.
"We like this aggressiveness, we want them to be as natural as possible, we don't want tame tigers," he explained.
“We know tigers are aggressive and that's how we want them to be.
"
There are only a few hundred white tigers left on the planet, in captivity, almost never seen in the wild.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that the number of wild tigers plunged from 100,000 in 1990 to 3,900 today.
Their number has increased again in recent years but the species is still threatened with extinction.
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Animals
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Zoo
Birth
Cuba
Tiger